Page 91 of Silent Count
“I bet.” She looks at the cameraman, then at me and nods. “Bo, congratulations on your second national championship! How does this one feel compared to the first one?”
I lean down to hear her over the noise and nod as she speaks. “Thanks, Holly. Yeah, I mean, it was a great game today.” I look up at her.
“Your defense missed some crucial errors in the first half. What did you have to do to compensate for those?” She tilts her microphone to me.
“We all made some mistakes out there, but we just had to keep getting out there, executing play after play, and it paid off in the end.”
She holds the microphone toward her mouth. “Is this your girlfriend, Bo?” Then she moves it to me.
I look at Chelsea, but I’m not sure if she heard Holly because she smiling like she’s fascinated by it all. “This is my fiancée, Chelsea.”
Chelsea’s mouth drops open, and she whips her head up, looking at me. And I just smile down at her.
“Well, I mean, she will be here in a second.” I look over Holly’s shoulder and see one of our trainers, Sarah, standing behind her. “Thanks, Holly.”
“Congrats on the win and the engagement, Bo!” She backs away.
I tip my chin, and Sarah rushes over to me. “You got it?”
“Yep, I got it.” She pulls out a ring box from her fanny pack, and then she looks at Chelsea, whose mouth is still hanging open, and smiles as she hands it to me.
“Thanks, Sar. You’re the best.” I give her a nod and take the ring out of the box, then set the box on the ground next to me.
“I know,” she says as she backs away, still watching.
When I turn back to Chelsea, her hands are covering her mouth, but I pull them away and take one of her hands in mine.
“Lucky,” I say as I get down on one knee, “you are the love of my life, my partner in all things, and my best friend. And I’m so excited to walk through this life with you. Will you marry me?”
She starts to cry and nods. “Yes!”
“Thank fuck.” I bark out a laugh. Then I slide the engagement ring onto her finger. When I stand, I lift her in my arms and kiss her. “I love you.”
“Holy shit, Bo! I love you too! I was not expecting this at all. There are cameras everywhere aimed at us.”
I look around and notice that she’s right. “Oops.” I shrug, smiling, not sorry.
My teammates, who are nearby, all rush us, while cameramen fight to get a shot of Chelsea and me.
Then my parents come into the circle, and they hug me first.
“Congratulations, sugar!” my mom says, then hugs Chelsea. “And congratulations to you too! Welcome to the family!”
“Thank you,” Chelsea says, a smile breaking across her face.
“Bo,” my dad says, grabbing my hand, then pulling me in to hug me. “You were amazing out there today. We’re so proud of you.” He turns to Chelsea. “Welcome to the family, Chelsea,” he says, then leans in to hug her.
“Thank you, sir,” she says politely.
It’s been hard for her to know that my dad wasn’t on board with us at first, but we’re all in a good place now, so I know it will work out.
“Bo!” Coach yells. “Callaway! Get your ass over here so we can get this trophy!”
“Go.” Chelsea tries to push me away, but I don’t let her.
“Uh-uh. I want my fiancée where I can see her.”
I kiss her finger with the ring and pull her along with me toward the stage, cameras following us as we go.
